Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility

Congrats to Mpact Partner, LA Metro!! 🥳🥳🥳

“Congestion pricing is a rare example of government taking a big swing on a complicated and highly controversial initiative and having it immediately pay off for constituents, with benefits that are obvious to everyone.” – Janno Lieber, Chair and CEO, MTA

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This week a federal judge ruled in support of congestion pricing. ICYMI, here’s the detailed report on the results of the first year of MTA's congestion pricing program. Useful methodology & data.

www.mta.info/document/195...

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Boston's fare-free bus program extended through June MBTA bus routes 23, 28 and 29, which serve Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury, will remain fare-free through June after the city of Boston announced an expansion of the COVID-era program.

Free fares extended on selected routes in Boston. Bus ridership is up and dwell time down on free-fare routes, alongside calls for bus priority and support for income-eligible reduced fare programs. Check out this piece for multiple perspectives on free fares.

www.wbur.org/news/2026/02...

Newsom Signs $590 Million Loan to Avert Drastic Bay Area Transit Cuts | KQED Like transit systems across the country, BART, Muni, Caltrain and AC Transit were hit hard by the pandemic and have since struggled to stay afloat.

A $590m emergency loan for the Bay Area “supports the region’s four largest transit operators: BART, Muni, Caltrain and AC Transit.” MTC Chair Sue Noack described the bill as a “must-pass” measure to protect the 900,000 daily trips in the region.

www.kqed.org/news/1207389...

Mpact Champions support the next generation of our work, helping us reach new audiences and build new partnerships. Thank you HNTB and WSP for joining us as Champions in 2026.

Learn more about Mpact Champions at www.mpactmobility.org/about/mpact-....

Preparing your proposal to be a speaker at Mpact Transit + Community in Toronto? Use this link to submit:

bit.ly/CFS_Submit2026

app.sessionboard.com/submit/mpact...

Speakers - Mpact Transit + Community Conference Speakers for the Mpact Transit + Community (formerly Rail~Volution), a conference focused on leveraging mobility and development investments to build great places to live for everyone. Conference spea...

Download the worksheet to prepare your proposal: bit.ly/MpactTO26_CF...

Ready to submit? Here's the link: bit.ly/MpactTO26_CF...

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Put your finishing touches on your Mpact Transit + Community proposal and submit today! The Call for Speakers closes this week on Friday, February 20. Find all the Call for Speakers info: mpactmobility.org/speakers. Other helpful links are in this thread.

#MpactTO26

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Huge thank you to Mpact's outgoing Board President, Diana Mendes, for her extraordinary leadership!

We're excited to welcome Beth Holbrook as Mpact Board President! Beth is a Trustee of the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and Chair of the ULI Utah Management Committee. Learn more: www.mpactmobility.org/blog/mpact-w...

📢 The Mpact Transit + Community Call for Speakers closes next week on February 20! 📢 Submit your proposal today: mpactmobility.org/speakers

#MpactTO26

Our friends at AARP Livable are accepting applications for their 2026 #AARPCommunityChallenge grant program through March 4. The program aims to spark change & improve quality of life for all with quick-action projects. Learn more and apply: AARP.org/CommunityChallenge!

Speakers - Mpact Transit + Community Conference Speakers for the Mpact Transit + Community (formerly Rail~Volution), a conference focused on leveraging mobility and development investments to build great places to live for everyone. Conference spea...

Tell us about it – submit a proposal by Feb 20 to be a speaker at Mpact Transit + Community 2026 in Toronto! mpactmobility.org/speakers

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#MpactTO26

How is AI showing up in more specific, context-driven ways? Are there community-first uses of AI in transportation, especially transit and multimodal? (2/)

Just like transportation includes many modes, with different costs and benefits, AI is various, says journalist Karen Hao, speaking at Hay Festival in Cartagena.

Are we focusing too much on the equivalent of the rocket and not the bicycle ... or the bus? (1/)

www.instagram.com/reel/DUK8ogM...

Be part of the conversation at the 2026 Mpact Transit + Community conference in Toronto! The deadline is coming up: Friday, February 20. Submit today: mpactmobility.org/speakers.

#MpactTO26

Thank you for getting the word out!

Speakers - Mpact Transit + Community Conference Speakers for the Mpact Transit + Community (formerly Rail~Volution), a conference focused on leveraging mobility and development investments to build great places to live for everyone. Conference spea...

If you're into in these kinds of discussions, they happen at our conference too! The Call for Speakers for Mpact Transit + Community is open til Feb 20. We're looking for proposals about great work advancing transit, multimodal options, supportive land use + development: mpactmobility.org/speakers

Thanks for the shoutout!

BART ridership sees steady growth—in December it was up 13.5% over previous year, “capping a year of steady growth.” Follow the link for details and efforts toward a better rider experience.

www.bart.gov/news/article...

We're learning more about TTC as part of getting ready for the 2026 Mpact Transit + Community conference, coming to Toronto in September. The Call for Speakers is open from now til February 20. Start gathering your thoughts to be a speaker in Toronto! All the deets at mpactmobility.org/speakers

TTC Board approves 2026 operating and capital budgets with no fare increase The budgets also make way for fare capping and capital improvement projects.

The Toronto Transit Commission approved their 2026 budget, which now goes into the full City of Toronto budget.

It "includes a third consecutive fare freeze, introduces fare capping, adds nearly 200,000 hours of service and invests $16.7 billion in long-term capital projects."

tinyurl.com/3255k87d

Have you seen this in other North American cities? Should it be? Pros/cons?

How Toronto's planning history is influencing its walkable future | CBC News Tucked inside Toronto’s leafy, quiet and private residential neighbourhoods are facades that tell the story of another time in the city’s urban planning history.

"Shops and other businesses in neighbourhoods were an important part of [Toronto's] early history, [...] but mid-20th century policies stopped new ones from opening." Now, that's changing with some detached properties allowed to become a retail store in certain wards.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Speakers - Mpact Transit + Community Conference Speakers for the Mpact Transit + Community (formerly Rail~Volution), a conference focused on leveraging mobility and development investments to build great places to live for everyone. Conference spea...

If you’re involved in projects like this, especially with connections to transit, tell us about it. The Call for Speakers for Mpact Transit + Community 2026 in Toronto is open until Feb 20. mpactmobility.org/speakers

“These new bike lanes combine physical separation with placemaking, integrating features like public art, landscaping, and transit connections to create vibrant community spaces that benefit everyone, not just those who ride.”

The Best New U.S. Bike Lanes of 2025 | PeopleForBikes Ferst Drive in Atlanta. Photo courtesy of the Georgia Institute of Technology

The round up of best new bike lanes from People for Bikes. A variety of designs in different settings. www.peopleforbikes.org/news/best-ne...

#MpactTO26 Call for Speakers Webinar

The Mpact Transit + Community conference Call for Speakers is open! Looking for tips on crafting the best proposal? Join the Call for Speakers webinar next week on January 29 from 1:00-1:30 pm Central. Register at bit.ly/CFSWebinarMp.... Bring your questions!

The Mpact Transit + Community conference is headed to Toronto, ON, September 14-17. Stay up to date on all things conference at mpactmobility.org/conference. #MpactTO26